To Capture Light
by MegaVelRaptor
Summary: Malaika Noor Abdul, an Arab girl with the gift of light. A small incident has her running from the law...Her abilities, and the fact that she is running from the police, intrigues the city's bad-boy. Yup, that's right. Ebon himself.
1. To Capture Light Part 1

As if being an Arab teen was not hard enough.

No dating until you are married, no wild parties, no "fun". Or at least what most teens believe is fun nowadays.

But that does not bother her as much as the injustice thrown on her at times. This...This was one of those times.

She never would have even thought about running from the police even in her wildest of dreams. And for what? An old, whiny woman who had practically an innate hatred of all things unnatural. Bang Babies, mutants, and anyone irregular were hated in this society. It was not anything like the small town in Saudi Arabia where she spent her first few years of childhood. Everyone there thought of her as a blessing, making her quite a narcissistic toddler at the time.

Malaika Noor Abdul, not much different than most nineteen-year-old girls. Strike that. She is pretty eccentric, depending on one's perception of her. She is interested in entemology, and has a pet Cobalt Blue Tarantula she named Adel, which means "Just". Oh, yes. Justice she craved more than anything else in the world. To see all these criminals in jail, she finds them simply misunderstood. Arachnids, insects...Malaika despises the fact that people do not mind killing them off, and would through hate towards any cat or dog murderers out there.

Malaika found herself running from the police over an offense so minor that even a magnifying glass would skip over it, not noticing. Just another day, doing some grocery shopping...Malaika sneezes, then all hell breaks loose. She ends up _temporarily_ blinding the old woman next to her. Malaika pleads forgiveness, but the woman would not hear of it. The woman calls for security, and even as Malaika tries to explain, the police would not hear of it.

In one flash of a blinding light, she makes her escape onto the city streets. "This is not how I wanted my day to go at all!" She cries to herself as she curves into an alleyway. Escaping by foot is not exactly the best method, she does realize.

"I don't think running is a great gettaway, unless you're like a track star or somethin'." A voice calls down to her. Great. They sent Dakota's finest. Static Shock himself.

Not having the courage to speak up and explain herself, Malaika spontaneously throws a light beam at the hero, confusing him enough to make another gettaway. She runs into the darkness of the connected alleyways...Not exactly sure where she is going, but moving forward nonetheless.

"Ack!" Static yells out as his vision is gone temporarily. "What the heck was that?" He rubs his eyes, and his vision returns to him slowly.

Gear finally arrives at the scene. "Hey V! Did I miss sumthin'?"

A bit annoyed, Static replies, "Bout time you showed up! She split!"

Confused, Gear asks, "Just like that? How?"

"Well, she's definitely a Bang Baby...I'm not sure, but I think she just blinded me for a second there. It's like a taste of my own medicine, ain't it?"

"Heh. True that! Pretty interesting power she's got there. Did you manage to pin a tracking device on her?"

"Couldn't! She was too fast for me." He crossed his arms.

"I sense someone's losing his touch..." Gear teases, then beckons him. "C'mon, I'm sure she hasn't gone far..." Static nods and goes the opposite direction to look for Malaika.

Meanwhile...

Malaika, lost and confused, forces a glow to emit from her hands, so she can see the area around her. "I'm safe here..." She thinks to herself. The sirens from the police car had vanished from her hearing distance. She sits cross-legged on the ground. She did not know what to do. She could not go home, they would find her there...And her adopted parents were not home, they were visiting Saudi Arabia.

Yes, adopted...No one knows truly who little Malaika's real parents were, she was found barely alive as an infant in the middle of the desert...Miraculously alive. She was taken into the nearby orphanage in a small town, and eventually adopted by a sweet couple at age four. She was then taken to this very city. Not exactly a paradise on Earth, she believes. Not like her hometown.

But the one thing on her mind at this very moment is, "Did I leave enough food for Adel?" She worries like hell about her blue arachnid. If anything happens to him, she was not sure when she would stop mourning.

Tap. Tap. Tap.

A chill goes up Malaika's spine. She is not alone. She stops emitting the glow from her hand, so she could remain hidden in the darkness. She liked the darkness. It was safe.

"I can see you." An echoing voice calls to her. She curls herself up more.

"W-what do you w-want?" Malaika tries her best to sound aggressive. She is not exactly a grown girl, at only the height of five feet and two inches, doubled with her petite stature, but knows that small does not necessarily mean no gall.

"Only to help you." The voice did not sound trustable. "I hear the cops are afta you."

"So they are..." She sounded unimpressed.

"I can offer you something I'm sure you'd take into consideration." The looming figure came closer. She could only see a silhouette in the lack of light.

"I'm listening." Malaika's courage rose as she found this man was not trying to hurt her...At the moment, at least.

"Join me, and I can help you get back at them fo' makin' you a a criminal." He grinned, not a grin that she could see, but she sort of felt that he probably did.

Malaika lights up the area with her hands once again and gasps. "You...You're..."

"A Bang Baby? Heh. Yeah. Like ya'self, right?" It was no other than Dakota's bad-boy himself, Ebon.

"You're that guy I saw on TV...Stealing from a bank yesterday." She crosses her arms. "Why on Earth would I want to join you?" The sirens sounded again, as they came closer to the area.

Ebon looked in the direction of the sound, then back at Malaika. "Don't seem as if you got much of a choice." Sighing, Malaika gets up and nods.

"Just get me outta here." She orders him.

"That's a'ight wit me." He stares her down. "Well, you know me...What you call ya'self."

"Malaika. It means Angel." She smiles slyly. And in a mocking tone of voice she states, "Don't try to make me anything else."

"That's such a pansy name, got anythin' else?" He shakes his head in disapproval.

"My middle name's Noor. It means light." She adds.

"I guess that'll do." He grips her by the arm.

"Eee! Hey! Leggo!" And into the purple and black vortex they go. Scared and confused, Malaika does not know whether to scream or throw up. She remains quite for the whole strange ride there...

...To Be Continued...


	2. To Capture Light Part 2

Sorry about not submitting part 2 for so long! I've been busy with school & art stuff...Plus the added distraction of Sims 2. =P

Hope you enjoy!!

-------

"So strange...Where would she go all of a sudden?" Virgil runs his fingers through his dreadlocks - frustrated. It was lunchtime at school. Richie and Virgil under a tree, discussing the incident from the day before regarding the mysterious Arab female.

"I dunno, V..." Richie takes a bite into his tuna sandwich, and with his mouth half-full continues, "She is a Bang Baby, after all...Who knows what powers she might have?" He swallows. Virgil takes a deep breath, sighing as if this were a real loss.

"I just felt so bad...She didn't seem like she was up to anything crminal. Just confused and scared...You remember Permafrost?" Virgil looked at Richie, a concerned look on his face.

"Oh, boy, do I!" Richie shook his head. "Her brain snapped or somthin', didn't it?"

"Yea...But I remember that look she gave me. Desperate. Alone. Scared." Virgil looked up at the sky. "This new girl gave me the same look...She probably was too scared from the police to explain herself." Richie nods in agreement.

"That could be it...I'm sure this is all a misunderstanding then, I guess..." He scratched his chin. "You think we should be looking for her?"

Virgil just shrugs. "Perhaps not...But keep a look-out, just in case."

Just then, Daisy arrives arms crossed with a smug look on her face. "Hey, you two! I'm not sure, but I do remember that you both got some work to do on your book reports..."

"When are they due again?" Richie scratches his head.

"Tomorrow!" Daisy slaps her hand against her forehead. "Why do you two always seem too preoccupied?"

"Well, y'know...Stuff..." Virgil is not sure how he was to respond. He wonders whether or not they would ever tell her or any of their other friends about who they were when they are not Virgil and Richie.

Daisy rolls her eyes, then turns around and heads towards the school library.

Virgil and Richie just look at each other and shrug.

-------

"Mmm...Is that you, Adel?" Malaika feels a tickling sensation at the tip of her nose. Adel would climb on her face and do just that at times. She opens her eyes to see not Adel, but this purple-haired eastern Asian man who is tickling her face with a tiny feather. How...Random.

"Sorry, nobody by the name Adel here," He mispronounces the name in his own 'American' accent. "But I go by Shiv." He holds his hand out for her to shake. As Malaika reaches for it, he swipes it away. "Got'cha!" He starts to laugh as if it was the most humorous joke in the world.

"You Americans and your incomprehensible humor..." Malaika shakes her head. "Regardless...I suppose it is nice to meet you, Shiv." She encourages herself to put on a slight smile to be polite, but fails miserably. She is in a lonesome, abandoned subway station - who knows how far away from home? How did she get here, anyway?

Oh. That's right. _Ebon_. She flinches as she sees some shadows move around. The shadows push together and form a mass, shaping itself into a Human figure. Ebon. "The brat's awake now, huh?"

Malaika, being as stubborn and proud as she is, cannot put up with how he speaks of her. "I resent that! I am _not_ a _brat!_" She crosses her arms and pouts. Childish, sure, but she makes her point. "You dragged me a hundred miles from my home, scar me for life with your 'vortex of doom' and now you are insulting me? This, I will not tolerate!"

"Hehe, you talk funny." Shiv chuckles. He speaks of her accent...She may be Arabic, however her accent is a strong South Asian one. People tend to ridicule her just for that one reason. That, and her vertically challenged stature.

"I should slap you, you know?" She grumbles at Shiv. Hmm...Perhaps this is why her parents prevent her from hanging around males so much? They are very disrespectful. Malaika shakes her head. She knows all males are not like this...But she also knows all men have it in them.

Ebon grins deviously - not a grin you could see, of course. He grabs her by the arm. "C'mon. Let's go see what you can do." His grip tightens as she struggles to be released from his grasp. Then Shiv takes her other arm to help keep her in control.

Malaika looks at the two men dragging her to who-knows-where? "You know...I had a dream like this once..." She blinks twice, spaces out, then starts to run her mouth off again. "Where are you two fiends taking me? Release me at once!" Right then, Ebon flings her to the floor.

"Perfect spot." He states. "Now, let's see what ya powers can do, _brat_." Malaika has a feeling that was going to be his official nickname for her.

"Hehe, you tell her boss!" Shiv gives an enthusiastic thumbs-up to Ebon, who just rolls his eyes and shakes his head. Shiv then turns to Malaika. "Hey Noor-"

"-It's Malaika." She cuts him off.

"That's not what Ebon said. Anyway...Wanna go steal some ice cream after your training?" He smiles innocently, trying to act cute.

"You must be kidding..." She glares at him. "And what training? I refuse!"

"I don't think you have much of a choice..." Ebon crosses his arms, his deep voice echoing down the tunnels of the subway.

"Well, that sounds familiar..." She grits her teeth. "Okay, this is what I can do." With a minute of concentration, she forms a glowing star of light between her two petite digits, and it grows with every second. Ebon steps back, avoiding any harmful effects to himself. With one strong heave, Malaika smashes the glowing star into a wall, making a large hole in it, as well as the walls beyond it. "I do not know what to call it..._Supernova_, I suppose. But that sounds tacky and overused. _Heaven's Light_, perhaps? Maybe if it was not going to be used for evil..." She changes her tone to a sarcastic one. No longer is she intimidated by these two thugs, but she knows they were not going to let her leave.

Ebon nods. "I'm impressed, I di'int think a brat could be that useful." He strokes his chin. As if he has any facial hair at all! "Got anythin' else?"

"Well, I can temporarily blind people..." Malaika adds.

"Perfect. Great fo' escapes." Ebon nods in approval. "Is dat it?"

"Don't try to blow away my confidence." She walked towards him and Shiv. "Do either of you have a cut or bruise of any kind?"

"I have one on my butt!" Shiv giggles, pointing to his rear. Malaika slaps her forehead in disgust.

"Oh, God! Anywhere other than places such as those?" She flinches. "I'd rather not touch that."

Ebon holds out his forearm. There is a pretty nasty gash on it that would not heal. "Hmm...Never figured a shadow could be injured." Malaika shrugs, then places her tiny hand on his wound. She fixates her light energy into it, pushing his body's immunity system to speed up at the rate of, well, light. In a matter of a few seconds, the wound disappears without a trace. Malaika grins. "I like this power best of all. It is most useful."

Ebon looks down at his arm. "Huh...And here's me thinkin' light could only do me damage. You aight, kid."

"Does that mean she's joining us?" Shiv hops up and down, clapping in excitement. He has taken quite a liking to her.

"I guess." Ebon shrugs and nods. He then retreats back to his quarters.


End file.
